Steve Jobs once said, “If you don’t have a website, you don’t have a business.” While this may sound like an exaggeration, in today’s world, it’s closer to the truth than ever — especially for financial advisors. If clients can’t find you online, it’s a red flag. It signals that your firm may not be keeping up with modern expectations, or worse, that you’re not serious about building trust with potential clients.
Sure, it’s true that over 50% of new clients come from referrals, but here’s the catch: even if someone refers you, they’re still going to Google you. They’ll look for proof that you’re a credible, relatable expert who understands their pain points. Before they pick up the phone or schedule a meeting, they’ll want to know that you’re a thought leader in your field, and that your firm aligns with their values. If your online presence doesn’t reflect that, you’re already behind.
The reality is, many advisors still treat marketing as an afterthought—a “nice-to-have” once everything else is in place. But the numbers tell a different story: only 12% of advisors
are actively pursuing marketing as a growth strategy, despite the fact that experts recommend allocating 2% to 5% of revenue to marketing. Firms that don’t invest in this area are missing out on key opportunities to build relationships and position themselves as the trusted advisor in a crowded market.
In today’s world, organic growth and word-of-mouth alone won’t cut it. Yes, referrals are powerful, but they’re just the beginning. If your firm isn’t visible online, your competitors are likely already taking advantage of those same opportunities. Prospective clients expect to find you quickly, see your thought leadership, and connect with content that speaks to their specific challenges. Whether it’s through blogs, social media posts, or client testimonials, your online presence is often your first—and sometimes only—chance to make a great impression.
In this blog, we’ll dive into why marketing is more than just a checkbox for growth—it’s essential for positioning your firm as a trusted, modern, and relatable choice for today’s clients. Without it, you may be missing the mark, even if you’re the most trusted advisor in the room.
Communicate to Build Trust and Credibility With Prospects and Clients
For advisors, the real currency traveling between advisor and client is trust. Nothing else can happen successfully without the foundation firmly planted in your advisor-client relationship. What better way to start on the right foot (and nurture the relationship) than with marketing?
As the SEC has redefined its marketing rule to allow for sharing testimonials and endorsements, the time is ripe to explore the new frontier of social media, digital marketing, and even podcasts to cultivate trust among your clients and future clients. Digital communications, be it a newsletter, email, or other channel, can help you validate your work, follow up with prospects, and make it easy for interested parties to contact you and learn more about your firm and what you offer.
Investing in digital marketing can help you extend the reach of your influence with clients beyond meeting in person, drawing in new clients, and building trust with existing ones over time.
Market to Differentiate Yourself From Competitors
Marketing can help advisors successfully differentiate themselves from their competitors. To do this, it’s important that firms know their audience and their unique message to share.
Know Your Audience
By defining your audience (which, once again, is a marketing and sales tactic), your firm can stop wasting time and energy marketing to people who aren’t the right fit and instead focus on narrow characteristics that make up your ideal customer. This important work is often overlooked by firms that choose to market to anyone and everyone instead of being strategic.
Market Your Specializations
After you’ve nailed your audience, you can market your firm’s specific offerings and services that meet that audience’s needs. This can help your ideal audience connect the dots between how your unique expertise best suits their needs over any other firm. It’s not about broadcasting how you’re the best firm in the world, but rather how you’re the best firm for them — that distinction helps you stand out from the competition more than your fee or accolades.
Start Marketing Now With These 3 Strategies
As we’ve explored, marketing is an untapped channel for driving growth at financial advisor firms. The best part is that it doesn’t take much to start generating returns. Think of marketing like creating a portfolio — your marketing tactics should be diversified if you want to see the biggest returns.
Here are three marketing tactics your firm could start doing tomorrow to bring in more ideal clients.
- Case Studies/Testimonials: With the SEC marketing rule now allowing for advisors to share testimonials for advertising, take full advantage by gathering your best work in order to share it with others. A word of caution — the SEC is cracking down on ad rule violations, so make sure you stay compliant.
- Client Webinars and Education Events: Events can be a mixture of in-person and virtual. Try hosting monthly webinars with your firm’s experts and invite prospects and existing customers, answer their questions, and keep building trust through free education.
- Thought Leadership and Content Marketing: You should be active on social media, email, and wherever else your customers are online. For example, posting frequently from the LinkedIn account of one of your executives can build thought leadership and bolster your firm’s reputation with existing and potential clients.
Without a strategic marketing approach, you risk being overlooked or seen as outdated. PreciseFP not only helps streamline client onboarding and data gathering, but it also offers built-in lead generation templates and tools to qualify leads—ensuring you’re attracting the right prospects and engaging with them efficiently. With our platform, you can be super communicative, collect all the necessary documentation without constant follow-up, and confirm to your clients that choosing you was a smart decision.
